17th Century England

Lesson 2: Meet the King and the main personalities.

The King, Charles I

Born in 1600, Charles was the second son and third child of King James of Scotland. Charles was sickly and not expected to survive. When his father left Scotland to inherit the English throne on the death of Elizabeth I, Charles was left behind due to illness.

Overshadowed by his charming elder brother Henry, whom he idolized, Charles could not walk or talk fully and looked gaunt. Charles was embarrased by his father's court, which was lax in its manners and loose living. He was shy, didn't like swearing and excesses, and felt very conscious of his disabilities when compared with his elegant older brother. This is confirmed through several examples of Charles's letters contained within, King Charles I by Pauline Gregg.

As he grew, Charles's stubborn determination healed his disabilities. Although he remained small, just over 5 foot, and kept a stammer for the rest of his life, he ignored these disabilities to go on to achieve peak physical condition.

Soon Henry died and Charles, the shy retiring boy, was heir to the throne. Combining stubborness and religious belief like his father and other monarchs, he believed kings were appointed by God and answerable to them alone.

Thus when Charles became King, he took on the role seriously, utterly believing he was now the sole protector of his people. Charles's disabilities made him retire into himself and he rarely opened up or showed feeling to any but those closest to him. This made him appear haughty and arrogant. But in reality, Charles was scared of showing any hint of weakness or vunerability.

He was very formal in his court, which was elegant and free of vice. He fined people for adultery and once he married, (a French Catholic Princess) Charles never wavered from her and all agreed that they loved each other tremendously.

Charles, though, felt he also needed someone of a stronger personality to rely on, for although he was spectacularly intelligent and had great judgement, he was too unsure of himself to go with his judgements. Therefore, when he put his trust in someone who was lacking, Charles would find himself in trouble for the mistakes he made following advise rather than his own judgment. His reliance on the Duke of Buckingham would cause much difficulty.

Devoutly religeous, Charles prayed regularly each day and was constant, despite what some might say, to the Church of England. He swore to uphold the church at his coronation and as an honourable and devout man, he would not break this promise to God.

In habits, Charles took state matters seriously and worked hard on state issues. In private, he loved to write, read, play tennis, ride, play cards and chat with friends, although the type of friends that knew the King well were very, very few and far between.

He drank little alcohol, ate sparingly and often declared that the leftovers from banquets should be dished out amongst the poor. Charles could be tough, too, and when he felt his own authority challenged, or that of his family's, he would crack down hard.

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